Wow, I cannot believe the emotional responses that last week’s blog, Family, generated. Thank you all for your comments, emails, etc. I’m not surprised that many of us share the common bond of a “Mrs. Dennis” in our lives. As parents we must be our children’s advocates, and perhaps by writing letters to the “Mrs. Dennis'” of the world we can help facilitate change.
As I mentally prepared my schedule for this week, it struck me that my life has become portable. I no longer need to be home to get most of my work done. I just need to be stationary for stretches of time. My mobile phone, blackberry, and laptop allow me to essentially have a traveling office. Managing the lives of 3 children, 3 dogs, a husband, a lizard (if I don’t mention Spikey, Will will never forgive me) and of course myself, means that I'm in my car often. With a brood like this, there is the constant schlepping back and forth, and of course, there is the waiting.
I’ve gotten use to the waiting, and I have learned to utilize my time efficiently. My car has literally become a second office. It is amazing what I can accomplish from it – parked of course. Whether I am in the car, at guitar lessons, baseball practice, or wherevre, it is my electronic mobility that enables me to manage this blog.
This week I have worked from the orthodontist's waiting room, a doctors office, my car, and now, the library. Aside from my home office, the library is my favorite place to write. I like the placidity - there are no distractions, no ringing telephones, and everyone speaks in a low hushed tone.
It is late afternoon, so children of all ages are here either with a tutor, or working in "independent study groups" (a/k/a hanging with friends). I get a kick out of watching the groups of older kids. For some reason I always think of the 80's movie The Breakfast Club when I see them. The only difference is that these kids are not in detention, and they all have their own laptops and cell phones. They too have portable lives.
It is easy to tell from their [the teens] body language that they are torn between studying and having fun. They actually do a decent job at balancing both. I have no doubt that there is a lot of IM-ing going on.
Today, I have noticed that there is a bit more flirtation than usual. It is subtle, but nonetheless present. It must be the tensions of Valentine's Day. As a teen, I remember Valentine's Day being huge. Sending and receiving Valentines was so exciting, especially if they were anonymous. Valentine’s Dances were also big, as it was a dance with a theme, and the theme was LOVE.
My days of Valentine Dances are long gone; I suspect that soon enough I will be reliving those days vicariously through my children. For now though, the days leading up to Valentine’s Day are sweet in our home. The kids work diligently on their Valentine cards for their classmates, and our family "Valentine's Day Mail Box" comes out of hiding. Elizabeth made our mailbox a few years ago out of an old shoebox (Jimmy Choo of course!). She chiseled a ridged mail slot with a pen, and taped a cardboard pop-up sign on top that reads, "Love is Good." We all spend days putting in our Valentine's mail in the box. What comes out is quite hilarious!
From a romantic standpoint, I think that Valentine's Day is silly. Who needs a card to remind them that they are loved? Apparently, most of western civilization – some 200 million Valentine's Day cards are given annually (according to History.com). And, that accounts only for the store bought ones! I must confess that I am one of the 200 million. Despite my proclaiming Valentine's Day as "silly," I always buy Raj a card, and I admit that if Raj did not acknowledge Valentine's Day, my feelings would be hurt. This double standard got me to wondering, just who the heck is Saint Valentine?
As it turns out, depending on the source, there are somewhere between 11 and 14 Saint Valentines. The saints were actually early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The term martyr is described as people who sacrifice themselves to further a cause or belief. Hmm… sounds a lot like what we do. Come to think of it, the words mother and martyr sound alike - mother, martyr, mother, martyr…
Raj is a romantic. A couple of years ago he planned and cooked me a fabulous meal for Martyr's Day, I mean Valentine's Day. There were truffles and scallops, and an extraordinary bottle of wine from our Bordeaux collection. The evening was perfect. The children were sleeping soundly, and a warm crackling fire illuminated the room – a truly wonderful evening. As the evening ended, we walked hand and hand to our bedroom. Satiated from Raj's delicious meal and giddy from the wine, I climbed into bed, leaned over to kiss my husband good night, and vomited everywhere. A few moments later Raj followed suit. We still have not decided if the culprit was the scallops or the truffles. We’ve been eating out ever since.
I will be traveling with my family next week. We are heading south for a much needed break, and with the hope of sunny skies and warm sea air. I will leave my “traveling office” behind to recharge, as I plan to be dozing seaside on a chaise lounge recharging my own battery.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Czzy
My next blog will be posted on February 27.
